03/28/2008 - Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. – Dennis Raben broke a 5-5 tie with a two-run double in the top of the 10th inning to fend off a late Duke comeback and clinch a 7-5 win for second-ranked Miami Friday evening at Jack Coombs Field.

The two-run double was one of two in the game for Miami’s right fielder, giving him a team-high four RBI. His extra-inning double broke a six-inning scoreless drought for the Hurricanes (20-2, 8-1 ACC), as Duke starter Andrew Wolcott settled down after a four-run first inning to hold Miami to just four hits and one run over his next six frames.

Miami starter Chris Hernandez started out strong, retiring eight straight, but could not hold down Duke’s offense for long, as the Blue Devils (21-6, 4-6 ACC) rallied with five runs in the bottom of the fifth to overcome a 5-0 deficit. He was helped out by Kyle Bellamy (3-0) and Carlos Gutierrez in relief though, as the Miami duo combined for three scoreless innings with Gutierrez stifling a 10th-inning rally by Duke to pick up his sixth save of the season.

Michael Ness (2-1) took the loss for Duke after giving up Raben’s go-ahead double in the 10th. Duke’s most reliable reliever this season, Ness held the Canes to just one hit over the eighth and ninth innings and retired five straight after giving up a single in the eighth. The two hits he allowed to Jemile Weeks and Raben were Duke’s undoing though, as Ness broke a scoreless streak of 7.2 innings to raise his ERA to 2.19 on the season.

Offensively, Duke was paced by a two-RBI day from second baseman Gabriel Saade and one RBI each from freshman John Bunder, sophomore Jeremy Gould and senior Kyle Kreick. Catcher Matt Williams collected multiple hits and a run, while third baseman Ryan McCurdy and outfielder Tim Sherlock also scored.

Miami benefited from a two-RBI effort from freshman designated hitter Joe Terdoslavich and two runs each from Jemile Weeks, Yonder Alonso and Raben. Alonso reached base in four of his five plate appearances after singling and drawing three walks, while third baseman Mark Sobolewski contributed three hits in five at bats.

Miami struck first with a four-run first inning, highlighted by a two-run double from Raben and consecutive RBI groundouts by Sobolewski and Terdoslavich. The Hurricanes loaded the bases after the first three batters reached base, including a leadoff hit by Blake Tekotte and an infield single by Alonso. Saade did his best to keep the ball in the infield to save a run, but his efforts were erased on the next at bat when cleanup hitter Raben doubled down the left field line to drive in Tekotte and Weeks. After the double left runners on second and third, Saade saved a potential two-RBI single by making a play on a ground ball deep in the hole before spinning and firing to first for the first out of the inning. Alonso scored on the groundout though, just as Raben would on the next at bat when Terdoslavich ripped another RBI groundout to Saade for the second out. With the bases finally cleared, Wolcott ended the inning himself after leaping to cut off a ground ball back to the mound and tossing it to first for the third out.

Saade allowed a runner to reach base after botching a hard-hit ground ball in the second inning, but made up for it by turning a 4-3 double play. With catcher Yasmani Grandal on first after the error, Tekotte then ripped what should have been a base hit up the middle. Saade flashed his range though, and picked up the roller two steps from second, opting to step on the bag himself before turning and firing to first base just in time to complete the first of two double plays in the game for Duke. 

Miami continued to pour it on in the third after converting a walk and a pair of singles into a run to take a 5-0 lead. Wolcott retired the first batter on a ground out before issuing a full count walk to Alonso for his ACC-leading 24th free pass of the season. Alonso was promptly sent back to the dugout though, after being forced out at second on a fielder’s choice ground ball from Raben. After swapping places with Alonso on first, Raben moved to third on an ensuing single from Sobolewski before scoring from second on the next hit from Terdoslavich. Wolcott limited the damage to just one run, however, after rolling a ground ball to Lemmerman at shortstop to end the threat.

After Hernandez opened the game by retiring eight straight Blue Devils, the Miami southpaw had a temporary lapse of control and issued consecutive walks to Sherlock and Bunder to give Duke its first base runners of the game. Duke could not take advantage of the potential scoring situation, however, as Hernandez forced Williams to roll a fielder’s choice ground ball to end the inning.

Tekotte reached with a two-out single in the top of the fourth, but was immediately sent back to the bench after Wolcott caught him sleeping at first base. Duke’s 6-6, 240 pound right-hander turned and fired to first just after Tekotte took his first lead the inning to pick off the fourth runner of his three-year career.

After going hitless over the first four innings, Duke finally got to Hernandez and drove four hits to send in five runs in the bottom of the fifth and knot the score at 5-5. A pair of consecutive two-out hits from Saade and Kreick highlighted the rally, as the Blue Devil four and five hitters combined for three of the RBI in the inning. The rally started when McCurdy was hit by a pitch for his team-leading 10th of the season and advanced to third on a pair of wild pitches. The second wild pitch from Hernandez erased a swinging strikeout by Sherlock and allowed the Blue Devil right fielder to reach first. With runners at the corners, Bunder came through with a single through the left side for his first career RBI, which was immediately followed by another base knock from Williams that loaded the bases. Gould then stepped into the box and added to his team-leading 25 RBI with a groundout to third that easily sent in Sherlock to bring the score to 5-2. With Williams and Bunder both in scoring position with two outs after the groundout, Saade roped the first pitch he saw to opposite field to score both runners while advancing to second on the same play after right fielder Raben opted to try and throw out Bunder at the plate. Raben’s throw was on target, but mishandled by Grandal, allowing Bunder to slap his hand to the plate for the fourth run of the inning. With Saade on second after his heads-up base running, Kreick took an 0-1 fastball back up the middle to score his teammate and tie the score at 5-5.

Meanwhile, the momentum swung in Wolcott’s favor as well as the Blue Devil ace retired six straight in the fifth and sixth innings, using just seven pitches to retire the side in the fifth. He allowed his first runner to reach base since the fourth in the top of the seventh inning after issuing a walk to Tekotte, but came out of the inning unscathed with some help from Saade at second. After scoring the tying run in the seventh, Saade stopped the go-ahead run from scoring after cutting off a potential base hit deep in the hole and firing to first base to end the inning. Tekotte stole second before the play and surely could have scored had Saade not kept the ball in the infield.

Following seven strong innings from Wolcott, Ness took the mound for Duke in the eighth. The sophomore right-hander brought a streak of 15 straight retired batters into the game, but put the streak to rest after issuing a leadoff walk to Alonso. He followed by fanning Raben, but a perfectly executed hit-and-run by Sobolewski resulted in runners at the corners with one out. The 6-4 righty buckled down in the pressure situation, however, racking up a called strikeout against Terdoslavich before forcing Ryan Jackson to line out to Saade on a 2-2 count to end the inning.

The Hurricanes followed suit in the bottom of the eighth, sending one of their top relievers to the mound in side-armer Kyle Bellamy. Bellamy brought a 0.00 ERA through 14.2 innings into his 11th appearance, and kept his scoreless streak intact by inducing three straight groundouts to Jackson on just nine pitches in the eighth.

After Ness retired the side in order in the top of the ninth, Duke’s offense went to work in the bottom half of the frame in an attempt to avoid extra innings. The Blue Devils put a pair of runners on base with one out, but Bellamy stranded both after dishing out a clutch strikeout before ending the inning with a pop up in foul territory.

Miami came out swinging in the 10th as the previously dormant Hurricane offense strung together a leadoff single by Weeks, a walk by Alonso and a two-RBI double from Raben to take a two-run lead at 7-5. After giving up Raben’s two-run double to the right-center field gap, Ness settled down and retired the next three to take Duke into the bottom 10th with a two-run deficit to overcome.

Down by two runs, Duke put together a pair of singles with two outs to bring the go-ahead run to the plate, but came away scoreless as Gutierrez shut down the Blue Devils to lock up the win. Saade tried to get things started from the leadoff spot after battling through an 0-2 count and ripping a hard-hit line drive down the third base line, but was robbed of a potential double when Sobolewski leapt up and snagged Saade’s liner to pick up the first out of the inning. Gutierrez then induced a ground ball to Jackson at shortstop for the second out before Nicolla started the Blue Devil rally with a single through the right side. After sending freshman Ben Condon to first base to pinch run for Nicolla, McCurdy moved him to third with another two-out knock which bounced just over the head of Alonso at first base and rolled into right field. Down to their last out, Duke had the tying run on first base and the go-ahead run at the plate in the form of Lemmerman. After fouling off the first strike, Lemmerman ripped the next pitch to third base, giving the Duke faithful a glimmer of hope when the ball popped out of Sobolewski’s mitt and fell back to the dirt. Lemmerman had already made it halfway to first, but was just a half step too slow as the Hurricane third baseman picked the ball up and fired across the infield just in time to beat the Blue Devil freshman diving into the bag.

Duke will look to even the series on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Jack Coombs Field. Sophomore right-hander Will Currier (2-3, 4.50 ERA) will take the ball for Duke opposite Miami right-hander Enrique Garcia (0-0, 7.53 ERA).